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A review by whitneysederberg
This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman by Ilhan Omar
4.0
I love Ilhan!! She is so so inspiring!
However not a great memoir. Great story, but not great writing. It would have benefitted from being longer and including small moments that give it life. I’m not sure how much is ghost written (verifiably some), but we get pretty much none of Ilhan’s voice in this. The most character building we get from her are the (albeit very good) tweets within this.
Her life’s story really gave me a different perspective on my future, though. OHS puts SO much emphasis on our choice of college, but ultimately what we are able to give to the world is so much more important than indulging in petty elitism. Ilhan talks a lot about how experiencing the “people’s America” is really important to representing them. And also that being generally empathetic of other people experiencing adversity is our duty as a human.
She has such a grip on her priorities and was in many places so honest about herself that I don’t think I’ve felt more inspired by someone’s story.
Worth the read!!
However not a great memoir. Great story, but not great writing. It would have benefitted from being longer and including small moments that give it life. I’m not sure how much is ghost written (verifiably some), but we get pretty much none of Ilhan’s voice in this. The most character building we get from her are the (albeit very good) tweets within this.
Her life’s story really gave me a different perspective on my future, though. OHS puts SO much emphasis on our choice of college, but ultimately what we are able to give to the world is so much more important than indulging in petty elitism. Ilhan talks a lot about how experiencing the “people’s America” is really important to representing them. And also that being generally empathetic of other people experiencing adversity is our duty as a human.
She has such a grip on her priorities and was in many places so honest about herself that I don’t think I’ve felt more inspired by someone’s story.
Worth the read!!